12v portable jump starter issues?

[67cj5]

I’ve had this NoCO for about 2 years. Iys been great he little I’ve actually needed it.
I just pulled it out of the truck after looking at this thread. Was happy to see its full charge after many months. I am going to put my mult meter on it and see if it’s putting out what it’s supposed to.

I bought the GB150 about 2 or 3 years ago and then I added the GB70, I ended up giving the GB70 to my Brother and he gave me his GB40,

There is not much the GB150 won't start including Buses and Semi's.

 

[Bravo30]

That's a definite possibility.

But the saga continues! Last night I decided to go ahead and pull the jump starter out of my truck. I figured, if it's not working there's no reason for me to carry it. It still shows as being "charged" and since it has 2 USB ports it will absolutely function as a way to keep cell phones/etc charged or powered. So I took it into the garage.

View attachment 715839

Now I should point out that this type of charger has the battery (of course) and it also has some kind of transformer or controller that connects to the battery and has the jumper cables on it. This module has a voltage sensor that is there to protect the battery in the event that you accidentally connect to the wrong terminals on the battery. There is a little LED light that flashes on the module, which you can see in this picture:

View attachment 715840

When I checked the voltage on the clamps with the jump starter powered up, it was all over the place: 4v, 9v, 6v etc. So I think you are right: the "brain" in the connecting module was trying to "sense" the voltage (it probably sensed the voltage of the 9v battery in my voltmeter.)

So instead, I pulled the module out, and connected the volt meter directly to the battery. This was the result:

View attachment 715841

Showing 16.5v! So clearly the battery seems to be able to hold it's charge (which is impressive to me, since the charger sat in my truck all Winter, and there were a number of times the temperatures got well below freezing and stayed that way for days.)

What I'm thinking now is that the connector module has a little "brain" in it that is seeking a specific voltage, and it may not be sensing enough voltage from the motorcycle battery to charge it up. I'm not sure.

However, I WILL be keeping the Beattit charger in the garage from now on, and not in the truck, unless we are going on a trip somewhere.

But it also makes me think that for a longer trip, it might be a good idea if, instead of this small, lightweight "smart" charger and lithium battery, I bring a bigger, heavier, 'dumb' jump starter with a simple AGM battery setup. Yes it would be bulky and take up more room but it seems it'd likely be more reliable as well.

i have that same model and it left me stranded after I left the lights on which ran the battery way down. Another time a Verizon guy killed his battery after running his inverter for too long and the jump box wouldn’t work for him either. I’ve since bought a Clore JNC-770R jump box.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I’ve had this NoCO for about 2 years. Iys been great he little I’ve actually needed it.
I just pulled it out of the truck after looking at this thread. Was happy to see its full charge after many months. I am going to put my mult meter on it and see if it’s putting out what it’s supposed to.

Just picked up a NOCO GB40 based on what I've read here. Was in Wallyworld and there it was on the shelf, and only about 5$ more than on Amazoo. Worth the 5 bucks not to wait so I grabbed it. I've charged it up. Wish it didnt only charge via USB but I guess that's progress.

Will be trying on my Jeep that's been sitting all winter and has really only been started a few times since 2019.

 

[Photobug]

I bought one of those portable "jump starters" a few years back (Dec 2019.) The exact one I bought is this one:


The exact one I bought is no longer available but of course these are almost all produced overseas (China) and there are similar products out there now.

All those jump starters are sketchy. When they work they are great, but their reliability and long term life are suspect. I have that same charger and can state it works flawlessly for me. I could say the same thing for my Antigravity x-10 or something like that up till about a year ago when it would not start my truck when needed.

Even the best of them are made to a price point and will wear out and act up. I need to keep them both well charged to ensure the X-10 will start my wife Mazda and the other one starts my big vehicles. I test them out at home to know they are working and hope the time they fail is not when I am far from a road and in need.

 

[calicamper]

All of these look for minimal voltage. No voltage they won’t power up the clamps. I’ve had to fool mine with a 9v battery to jump a dead car.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

All of these look for minimal voltage. No voltage they won’t power up the clamps. I’ve had to fool mine with a 9v battery to jump a dead car.

They usually come with a bypass mode so it will send a jump whether it detects voltage or not. Just, in bypass mode, there is no polarity protection circuit enabled, that's all.

For me, I always keep jumper cables in any vehicle I have. The NOCO GB40 is a nice addition that should work if nobody else is around

 

[calicamper]

They usually come with a bypass mode so it will send a jump whether it detects voltage or not. Just, in bypass mode, there is no polarity protection circuit enabled, that's all.

For me, I always keep jumper cables in any vehicle I have. The NOCO GB40 is a nice addition that should work if nobody else is around

Mine are pre bypass era. Still work great its just something you need to be aware of. If you know a battery is flat you don’t attempt to crank on it till the jump pack is hooked up and has a few seconds. I have had a few cases on my motorcycle and my subaru where trying to start on the weak battery without the jump pack knocked it down to the point that my second try with jump pack was a problem due to this voltage detection issue. Both cases I had to fool it to get em running. Newer packs do have a bypass but older ones definitely don’t have this feature

 

[ThundahBeagle]

They usually come with a bypass mode so it will send a jump whether it detects voltage or not. Just, in bypass mode, there is no polarity protection circuit enabled, that's all.

For me, I always keep jumper cables in any vehicle I have. The NOCO GB40 is a nice addition that should work if nobody else is around

Good to know about the 9 volt, then!

 

[Grassland]

Locally the NOCO GB70 I think is on sale
The reviews I read are they are great, unless they just randomly fail just outside of warranty.
Is there a specific brand/model out there that is high quality?
I've been wanting to add one of these as a back up to jumper cables as especially when in the bush, it might be hard to get another vehicle close.
Plus it's just more convenient when it's minus 30 here and something is dead you just bring the booster

 

[67cj5]

Locally the NOCO GB70 I think is on sale
The reviews I read are they are great, unless they just randomly fail just outside of warranty.
Is there a specific brand/model out there that is high quality?
I've been wanting to add one of these as a back up to jumper cables as especially when in the bush, it might be hard to get another vehicle close.
Plus it's just more convenient when it's minus 30 here and something is dead you just bring the booster

Another good reason to buy the GB70 or the GB150 is because they can be charged with the Noco Fast Charger which will charge the GB70 in under an hour and a half and about 2 to 3 hours for the GB150, Other wise charging by USB can take quite a long time and you can run a small fridge from them for a couple of hours ( 3 or 4 hours or more ).

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Locally the NOCO GB70 I think is on sale
The reviews I read are they are great, unless they just randomly fail just outside of warranty.
Is there a specific brand/model out there that is high quality?
I've been wanting to add one of these as a back up to jumper cables as especially when in the bush, it might be hard to get another vehicle close.
Plus it's just more convenient when it's minus 30 here and something is dead you just bring the booster

My recently purchased NOCO GB40 did not start my 4.0 liter Jeep. Then again, it's been sitting for two years. It did crank it, just not quite start it. I do think there are other issues. I've recharged the NOCO and may try again tonight or tomorrow.

I have every reason to beleive it would start a recently drained battery on a daily driver 5.3, though, as it is rated up to a 6.0 liter engine

 

[Grassland]

My recently purchased NOCO GB40 did not start my 4.0 liter Jeep. Then again, it's been sitting for two years. It did crank it, just not quite start it. I do think there are other issues. I've recharged the NOCO and may try again tonight or tomorrow.

I have every reason to beleive it would start a recently drained battery on a daily driver 5.3, though, as it is rated up to a 6.0 liter engine

This would be for my 3.7s in my Ford's or the 3.6 in my wife's WK2. Or random friends when camping, most of whom own import crossovers.
Either the "left the interior lights on over night" issue or the "it's minus 37 and I guess the battery is old" issue.

 

[Chris Boyd]

I got tired of messaging with charging and keeping these jump packs maintained.

Went with a super capacitor jump pack, which I have reliably vampired juice from a dead 8 volt battery on my diesel tractor to jump start. Highly recommend…

It also saved me when I left my land cruiser at the airport with some parasitic load. We arrived back on a very late flight and this thing did the trick. Battery was at 10v. Hooked up the autowit, let it suck on the dead battery for about 10 mins, hit the jump button and Bam, rig started right up.

Nice thing is you can even draw power from a running companion vehicle, then transport over to the dead if you can’t draw from the dead one.

 

[67cj5]

This would be for my 3.7s in my Ford's or the 3.6 in my wife's WK2. Or random friends when camping, most of whom own import crossovers.
Either the "left the interior lights on over night" issue or the "it's minus 37 and I guess the battery is old" issue.

My Noco GB150 would turn that motor on its head, A friend had left her Diesel Merc 2.5L parked for the past 2 and a half years and the battery had zero volts and my GB150 started it so fast I never heard the starter motor Click.

The GB70 or the GB150 or their new models are the ones to buy.

 

[pith helmet]

I pulled my GB40 out the other day as I was switching trucks and noticed it was dead. I think the problem was that the buttons, either light or another had gotten depressed in the bag I store it in. I recharged it quickly with the 12v plug.
Glad I did, because yesterday I ran into a woman in town who had a dead battery in a small import car. It boosted it immediately and it was nice not to fool with jumper cables and trying to line up bumper-to-bumper in a busy parking lot.